LABOUR Director John Pinder.
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
LABOUR Director John Pinder yesterday expressed a desire to review the application process of long-term work permits, telling The Tribune there should be increased stipulations to guard against abuse.
Mr Pinder, a former trade unionist, stressed the need to strengthen labour policies related to work permits, telling this newspaper he had received at least 100 vacancy notices per week.
“The amount of NOVs (notice of vacancy) that come to my office – there are thousands of people on work permit applying for vacancies. Sure most of them are handymen or maids; we have to encourage Bahamians to take these jobs. It’s minimum wage but when you add all the benefits – the job they advertise could see someone potentially take home $20,000 annually,” Mr Pinder said.
“At least 100 a week,” he continued, “that’s over 5,000 people every year applying for work permit.”
Yesterday, Mr Pinder also underscored the need to strengthen NOV criteria – particularly stipulations concerning the training of Bahamians.
“So that when an employer wants to bring in a foreign worker, advertise in newspaper, and then come back and say they can’t find no suitable Bahamian or no one applied,” he said, “when we put these stipulations, we need to ensure the people they’re bringing actually have the certification they asked for, and that it’s authentic.”
Mr Pinder said: “We need to ensure when there is supposed to be training for Bahamians to take over that the Bahamian is identified and there is some format or curriculum in place to follow.”
A labour certificate and NOV is required from the Department of Labour for long-term work permits.
There are special circumstances that allow for an expedited application process; however, the normal process requires employers to advertise the position vacancy in one of the daily newspapers for a period of three days.
The employer is then required to provide a copy of the advertisement, a receipt of payment and photo identification to the Labour Department. If approved, a labour certificate is issued and the employer will attach this document to the application for a work permit at the Department of Immigration. Rejected applications are referred to the Employment Exchange Unit (EEU), which is tasked to utilise its database to identify suitable Bahamian job seekers within a four to six week period. If unsuccessful, the NOV application is then resubmitted to the director of labour for approval.
Immigration Minister Brent Symonette told The Tribune in August last year that the high volume of permit applications was the greatest challenge faced by officials. He pitched the idea of introducing ceilings on permits for domestic jobs, and other industries; however at the time, he admitted he did not expect the suggestion to be favourably received.
Since then the government has passed the Commercial Enterprises Act, officially known as the Act for the Designation of Specified Commercial Enterprises and Specified Economic Zones in the Bahamas.
The legislation enables a “specified commercial enterprise” to obtain an Investments Board certificate granting it a specific number of work permits for certain positions.
The Act’s fast track process, targeted at specific industries, was touted as a bid to allow top foreign executives to enter the Bahamas without possessing work permits.
Comments
K4C 6 years, 4 months ago
LABOUR Director John Pinder the Bahamas has a education system that has a D average that should be your priority, EDUCATION
boopboop 6 years, 4 months ago
Maybe you're right K4C. However there are persons who are educated, have gone abroad to the US, Canada, England or qualified themselves at our local University of the Bahamas and are just as qualified or in a number of cases more qualified, but yet well paying jobs are going out to foreigners. There are MANY, MANY, MANY, examples of this right there in Nassau.
hrysippus 6 years, 4 months ago
Can we hire a well qualified foreigner to fill this post of Director of Labour? Just asking as we might get someone who understands how private business works and what it needs to remain viable in an international global economy. I seem to remember Mr. Pinder saying we were all going to be rich because of our aragonite resources. Have not heard much from him lately on that subject, I wonder what has changed.
TheMadHatter 6 years, 4 months ago
Symonette said "He pitched the idea of introducing ceilings on permits for domestic jobs, and other industries; however at the time, he admitted he did not expect the suggestion to be favourably received."
By who? The employers of course. If you can bring in Hondurans or Peruvians or Haitians or Philipinos on the cheap....why not.
Bahamian dont want to do $10/hour job for minimum wage? Dey could suck teet. US$5.25 is big money in other countries.
Economist 6 years, 4 months ago
The economy would improve if they would put a rush on educated persons applying.
EasternGate 6 years, 4 months ago
Good luck Bro!
BahamaLlama 6 years, 4 months ago
My God this country can't think beyond its next lunch. We need to INCREASE skilled immigration to deal with the challenges we face. Like k4c says, which part of the D-average sector are going to be to be tackling these problems? The 10,000 imaginary agricultural scientists on Mayaguana? Exuma's hidden engineering hub?
Still, so much easier to win some political points with the bottom 5% of the electorate by claiming you're fighting all those evil foreigners.
If you were an alien looking in from space, you'd have to conclude the Bahamas was trying to devolve itself back to an isolated tribe in a jungle somewhere.
The_Oracle 6 years, 4 months ago
Seems the word Foreigner has (once again) become synonymous with the BogeyMan! We are more phobic about illusions than reality, always have been, which is why our politicians are perpetual apologists for why nothing can happen/shouldn't happen/won't work/etc. Meanwhile, there is no shortage of Morons, our problem is electing and appointing them.
joeblow 6 years, 4 months ago
Income tax of 20-35% on all foreign workers and foreign spouses of Bahamians with residency or work status! Make it more difficult to get Bahamian citizenship after marriage to reduce marriages of convenience!
Work out the details later!
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